Crate-machine



(No Model.) 4 Sheets- Sheet 2. F. B. SITES.

GRATB MACHINE. No. 56,671. Patented July' 20, 1897.

(No Modell) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. F. B. SITES.

wiigzsses l- S l 6 MMM Wfl@ @Ams/sf fie v QM w l v l O mr. mms mns no.Wowowo, wmmnwu u r (No Model.)

I'. B. SITES. CRATE MACHINE.

UNITED STATESV PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK B. SITES, OF DEFIANOE, OlllO.

CRATE-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 586,671, dated July20, 1897.

Application tiled February 18, 1897. Serial No. 624,011. (No model.)

have invented a new and useful Crate-Machine, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to crate-machines in which the slats are woventogether by a series of strands consisting ot' double wires, whichembrace the slats and are twisted together between. the adjacent slats,some of its objects being to provide means whereby slats are so spacedduring the operation of weaving them together that the distance betweenthe rear edges of the adjacent slats will be uniform throughout theentire length of the web regardless of variations in the widths of thedifferent slats, also to provide means whereby the feed may be adjustedto vary the distance between the slats of different webs, and also toprovide means for varying the number of twists formed in the wiresbetween the slats.

lVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in thenovel details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter fullydescribed,illustrated in the drawings, and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 2 is avertical transverse section on the line d d of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is asimilar view on the line b b of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectionof a portion of the machine on .the line c c of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectionthrough a part of the machine on the line dd of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection ofthe arrow. Fig. G is a side elevation of apart of themachine. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of ya detached detail, partly insection. Figs. S, 9,10, and 11 are perspective views of detacheddetails.

Similar reference-numeralsindicate similar parts in the several figures.

The main frame of the machine is indicated at 1 and is rectangular inform. The rear portion of the machine is elevated above the frontportion, and this elevated part of the frame is designated by 2.

3 3 represent bars supported on the top of the frame 2, extendingtransversely thereon,

and projecting beyond the frame at one end for a purpose to behereinafter referred to. These bars carry a series of bearings,(indicated by 4,) in which are j ournaled the wiretwisters. Thesetwisters are formed of metal tubes 5, provided at their front ends withspring-jaws 6, which are secured to the tube diametrically opposite eachother, and their front end portions converge and are normally inengagement with each other, as shown in Fig. 4. The ends of the jaws arereversely curved, as indicated at 7, and each jaw is provided with twoapertures, (indicated by S and 9, respectively,) the apertures Sbeing inthe converging portions of the jaws and the apertures 9 being in thecurved ends.

The rear end of each tube carries a spring spool-holder 10, in which thespools of wire 1l are supported. The spring -holders bear against theends of the spools with sufficient force to prevent the wire running offthe spools loosely, or, in other words, they regulate the tension of thewire as it is unwound from the spools. Each holder carries two spools ofwire, and the wire from each spool is carried through the tube andpasses out through the opening Sin one of the jaws (S and then throughthe opening f) in said jaw, and these jaws effect the twisting of thewire adjacent to their ends when the machine is in operation.

As shown in Fig. 1, the tubes 5 vary iu length, and the long and shorttubes are arranged alternately across the machine, and the object of soarranging them is that they may be spaced closertogether than they couldbe if they were of equal length, as suiiicient room must be provided topermit the spoolcarriers to revolve freely. Each of the tubes 5 isprovided with a pinion 12, rigidly secured thereon. These pinions are ofuniform size and mesh together, thereby transmitting uniform motion fromone tube to the other throughout the series.

13 represents the main driving-shaft, journaled in suitable bearings 14,which are supported on a lateral extension 15 ofthe frame 2.

16 is the driving-pulley, loosely mounted on the shaft 123 and providedwith a clutch member adapted to engage with the clutch member 17, whichis rigid on the drivingshaft. The inner end of the driving-shaft IOOcarries a beveled gear 1S, which meshes with a beveled gear 19 on ashaft 20, which is journaled in suitable bearings on the cross-bars 3.The shaft 2O carries a pinion 21, which meshes with a pinion 22 on ashaft 23, which shaft is also supported in bearings on the cross-bars 3,and the pinion 22 meshes with the pinion 12 on the adjacent tube 5.Motion is therefore transmitted to the twisters from the driving-shaft13 through the medium of the beveled gears 18 and 19 and the pinions 21and 22, as will be clearly understood.

24 represents a shaft journaled in bearings 25 on the extended ends ofthe bars 3, and this shaft carries a gear 26, which will be termed thegoverning-gear,7 as it regulates the number of twists formed in the wirebetween the slats. The gear 26 meshes with a gear 27, which runs as anidler and is carried on a stub-shaft 2S, which may be verticallyadjusted, for a purpose to be hereinafter eX- plained. The shaft 2Ocarries on its end a pinion 29, which meshes with the idler-gear 27, andthe gear 2G is driven through the medium of the pinion 29 and the gear27.

30 represents a shipping-lever pivoted intermediate of its length on abracket 3l, secured to a cross-piece 32 at the ends of the bars 3, saidlever being provided at one end with a fork 33, which engages an annulargroove in the hub of the driving-pulley 1G.

34 represents a sliding bar supported on a bracket 35,secured to the endof one ofthe bars 3 and having at its outer end an upwardlyproj eetingpin 3G, which passes through a slot 37 in the end of the shipping-lever30. rlhe sliding bar 34 is provided intermediate of its ends with anelongated opening 3S, through which a pinl 39 extends and is rigidlysecured in the horizontal member of the bracket 35. The sliding bar 34is also provided at its end with an upwardly-extending plate portion 40,having an inclined end face 41. rlhe gear 2G (see Fig. 8) is providedwith two diametrically opposite holes, (indicated by 42,) into whichpins 43 are inserted and during the course of the revolution of the gear2U are adapted to engage the inclined face 41 of the sliding bar 34 andthereby move the bar endwise and ope ate the shipping -lever 30 to throwthe pulley 1G out of engagement with the clutch 17. The end movement ofthe sliding bar 34 will be limited by the engagement of the pin 39 withthe end of the elongated opening 38 nearest to the inclined face 41, andthese parts will be so arranged that the lower end of the inclined face41 will still be in engagement with the pin 43 after the end movement ofthe bar 3.4 has ceased, and it will thereby act as a stop for the gear2G and stop the movement of the twisters simultaneously. The stopping ofthe gear 20 occurs almost simultaneously with the movement of the pulley16 out of engagement with the clutch 17. Either one or both of the pins43 maybe inserted in the gear 2G, as circumstances will demand, thesecond pin being indicated by dotted lines in Fig. S.

The number of twists formed in the wire between the slats is regulatedin the following manner: As shown in the drawings, the pinion 29contains one-third the number of teeth in the gear 26, and only one pin43 is carried by the gear 2G. As the gear 29 dcrives its movement fromthe gear 29, it is obvious that the pinion 29 will make three completerevolutions while the gear 2G is making one revolution, and consequentlythe twisters will be given three complete revolutions while the gear 2Gmakes one revolution, and at the end of the revolution the twistingmechanism will be stopped by the stopping of the gear 26, as alreadydescribed. The pinions 29 are intended to be changed, as desired, toincrease or diminish the number of twists to be given to the wiresbetween the slats-as, for instance, if two twists were to be given thepinion 29 would contain half the number of teeth that are on the gear26, and if one twist only were required both pins 43 would be insertedin the gear 26 and the gear would therefore be stopped at the completionof a half of its revolution, which would result in stopping the pinion29 at the end of the complete revolution. Itis to accommodate the di[ferent sizes of the pinions 29 that the support which earries thestub-shaft 2S, on which the idler 2T is journaled, is made vertically:,tdjustablc, as will be readily understood.

44 and 45 indicate spaced parallel bars suitably supported on the frame2, a pair of these bars being arranged on opposite sides of the machine.These bars are vertically slotted, as indicated at 46, to receive thedepending arms 47 of a plate 48. These plates are cach provided withvertical slotted openings 49, in which spring-actuated bearings 50 aresupported to have opposite vertical movement against the tension of thesprings 51, which may be either in the form of rubbercushions or coiledmetal springs, as preferred. In the bearings 50 are journaled upper andlower presser-rollers 52, which are arranged justin advance of the endsof the twisting-jaws (5.

represents a shaft extending transversely across the machine andsupported in bearings 54, secured to the outer faces of the parallelbars 44 and 45, and this shaft carries at each end an octagonal disk 55,which disks are eccentrically mounted on the shaft 53. The disks arearranged to work in an opening` 5G, formed in the plates 48, to engagethe side walls of said openings when rotated, and by this means theplates 48 may be longitudinally adj usted on the bars 44 and 45, andthereby adjust the position of the presserrollers 52 relative to thefront end of the twisting-jaws, for a purpose which will be referred tohereinafter. The shaft 53 carries at one end ahand-wheel 57,135 means ofwhich the shaft may be turned in its bearings.

5S represents a rake-bar extending across IOO IIO

the machine and supported at its ends between the parallel bars 474: and45. The teeth 59 of the rake-bar project upwardly between the twisters,and the rake-bar is adapted to have intermittent reciprocating movementto and from the presser-rollers 52. This movement is imparted to therake-bar by the following-described mechanism:

Rigidly secured to the hub of the drivingpulley 10 is a sprocket-wheel00, which is connected by a chain 61 to a sprocket-wheel G2 on the endof a shaft 63. This shaft G3 is supported in bearings G4 on the frame 1and a hanger G5, depending from the frame 2, and carries at its oppositeend a sprocket-wheel (5G. A shaft 67 is journaled in suitable bearingsin the frame 2, and a sprocket-wheel 68 is loosely mounted on this shaftin aline ment with the sprocket-wheel 66, and these sprocket-wheels areconnected by a chain 09. The hub of the sprocket-wheel G8 is providedwith an annular groove 70, with which the lever 7l engages, the leverbeing provided with a curved recess 72 for this purpose. The lever isloosely pivoted at one end to a stud 73, projecting inwardly from theframe 2, and is connected at its opposite end to a lever 71 by means ofa link 75.

rlhe lever 74 is pivoted at its lower end to the frame 1 and is confinedintermediate of its ends in an elongated opening 70 in a plate 77, thelatter being secured to the frame 2. The shaft 67 carries a pinion 78rigidly secured thereon, and this pinion carries a clutch member 79 onits face, adapted to engage a clutch member 80 on the adjacent face ofthe sprocket-wheel 08. By moving` the lever 71 the clutch members 79 and80 are engaged or disengaged, and when engaged the pinion 78 willreceive movement from the sprocket wheel 08, which latter is alwaysrunning when the belt-pulley is ruiming. rlhe pinion 78 meshes with agear 81 on a shaft 82, journaled in suitable bearings 83 on the frame 2,The shafts 07 and 82 carry, respectively, at their ends a pinion 81 andgear 85, similar to the pinion and gear 78 and 81 and moving uniformlywith them.

8G represents rack-bars, one at each side of the frame, `the teeth 87 ofwhich engage the gears 81 and 85. These rack-bars are counected at oneend to the rake-bar 58 and carry at their other ends lateral arms 88,the ends of which arms slide between the parallel bars t-t and 45. Onthe inner edge of one of the rack-bars a lateral projection 89 isformed, having the inclined side face 90, which as the rack movesforward engages the lever 71 and rocks it to disengage the clutchmembers 79 and 80 and stop the further movement of the pinions 7 8 andconsequently of the rack-bars. As soon as the clutch members 79 and 80are disengaged the rake-bar 58 is free to move back to its normalposition, and this backward movement is caused by the spring 91,attached to the rake-bar 58 and to one of the transverse bars 3.

The forward movement of the rake-bar 58 serves to throw the twistingmechanism into gear in the following manner: Leading from the rear ofthe ralie-bar 58 is a rope or flexible chain 92, which passes throughthe front bar 3 and around two pulleys 93 and 94, se cured to the rearbar 3, and is then connected to the sliding bar 34: at a point betweenthe pin 39 and the beveled end 40. The pin 39 serves as a pivot on whichthe slide-bar can oscillate, and therefore when the rakeebar 58 movesforward the cord 92 will pull the front end of the slide-bar 31 out ofengagement with the pin 13 on the gear 20 and at the same time cause itto slide forwardly and thereby rock the shipping-lever on its pivot andthrow the pulley 1G into engagement with the clutch 17, when thetwisters will begin to operate. The engagement of the pulley with theclutch will occur just as the rake-bar reaches the limit of its forwardmovement and is free to be retracted. The backward movement of therake-bar will slacken the rope 92, and the spring 95 will rock theslide-bar in the opposite direction and bring its beveled face 4:1 againin position to be engaged by the pin 43.

90 represents track-rails secured to the frame 1, and on these rails thewheels 97 of the carriage 98 run. The side bars 99 of the carriage areprovided with a series of holes 100, preferably arranged in a series ofrows of three holes arranged diagonally across the bars, as clearlyshown in Fig.` 1, and these holes are for the reception of a series ofpins 101, which are adapted to be engaged by the free ends of a pair ofdogs 102, pivoted on the rake-bar 58.

then the rake-bar is in its retracted position, the dogs 102 aresupported on the shaft 82 and their ends are out of engagement with thepins 101. The free ends of the dogs are downwardly curved, as clearlyshown in Fig. 5, and as the rake-bar moves forward the curved ends ofthe dogs 102 will engage wit-h two of the pins 101 and move the carriageforward.

103 represents locking-dogs carried on a shaft 101, journaled to revolvein suitable bearings in the frame 2. One end of this rod is providedwith a hand-wheel 105, by means of which the dogs may be lifted out ofengagement with the pins 101 with which they normally engage. The dogs103 are for the purpose of preventing backward movement of the carriage.The extent of the forward movement of the rake-bar is always uniform,but the forward movement of the carriage 98 is always somewhat less thanthe movement of the carriage, this difference in the movement being inevery case caused by the lost movement of the dogs 102 before theyengage the pins, and the object of this lost move* ment is to providefor the shortening up of the wire as it is twisted. Vhen the pins 101are set to give the carriage its extreme movement, there will be no lostmovement other than that already referred to, but when thc IOO IIO

IZO

pins 101 are adjusted to still further lessen the movement of thecarriage relative to the rake-bar the dogs 102 will slide forward ashor-t distance on the side rails 99 before they engage with the pin.The purpose of adjusting the movement of the carriage is to regulate thenumber of twists which are formed in the wires between the slats, and ofcourse the gearin which regulates the twisting mechanism will beproperly adjusted to cooperate with the adjustment of the pins on thecarriage.

At the front ends of the side bars 99 are secured two vertical standards106, and these standards are provided at their upper ends with a seriesof holes 107. (See Fig. 10.)

108 represents a cross-bar supported on the upper ends of the standards106 and adjustably secured in position by means of pins 109, which passthrough the bar into one of the openings 107. The bar 10S is providedwith a series of vertical projections 110, and these projections areadapted to engage the edge of one of the slats 111 to carry the webforward as it is formed. Vhen the carriage reaches the limit of itsforward movement, the web is disengaged from the projections 110 and thedogs 103 are lifted out of engagement with the pins 10l,when thecarriage may be pushed back to again engage with one of the slats of theweb, the intention being that the webs shall be continuous and afterwardcut up into the desired lengths to form the crates.

At certain intervals in the web-for instance, where it is intended tosever the different lengths-it will be sometimes necessary to formadditional twists in the wire between the slats, and this may beaccomplished by the operator grasping the pin 36 and rocking theslide-bar 34E in its pivot 39 to move the beveled end 40 out of the pathof travel of the pin 43 on the gear, and it may be held out of positionuntil the desired number of twists are formed in the wire.

In operation the series of jaws 6 are arranged so that the openingsbetween them will be in horizontal alinement in order that a slat may bepushed through them from one side of the machine. The ends of each pairof wires in each twister are twisted by hand at the beginning of theoperation, and the gear 26 is set so that the pin 43 will be inengagement with the end of the beveled face L11, and the sliding bar 31will therefore be at the extreme of its backward movement and the pulley16 will consequently be out of engagement with the clutch 17. The pulleywill then be started and the attendant will operate the lever 74 tothrow the clutch members 7 9 and S0 into engagement, when the rake-bar5S will be moved forward and carry the slat in between the rollers, andas the rake-bar reaches the extentl of its forward movement the pulley16 will be moved into engagement with the clutch 17, as heretoforedescribed, and at the same time the beveled end of the slide-bar 31 willbe moved out of engagement with the pin 43. The twisting devices willthen begin to operate and continue until again stopped by the pin 13coming in engagement with the beveled end of the slide bar 31, which inthe meantime has been returned to the position to be so e11- gaged. Thetwisters will then stop and the attendant will again operate the lever71 to cause the rake-bar to again move forward to carry another slat,which has in the meantime been placed in the jaws, forward between thepresser-rollers 52, and the operation will continue in this manner, ifnecessary, all day. The front end of the carriage will approach withinabout twelve inches of the presser-rollers and five or six slats willhave to be weaved together before the front slats can be engaged withthe projections 110 on the bar 10S, but after being once engaged withthe carriage the carriage will carry the web forward as it is formed andkeep it in a taut position during the entire operation. Thepresser-rollers 52 will, by reason of their spring actuated bearings,press the wire firmly down upon the slat and also hold the slat iirmlyin position during the twisting operation. It will be apparent that asthe rakebar always moves a uniform distance forwardly and it alwaysengagesA the rear edge of the slats the distance between the rear edgesof the adjacent slats will be uniform throughout the web regardless ofany variations in the widths of the slats. It is also obvious that bychanging the extent of the forward movement of the carriage the distancebetween the several slats may be varied at pleasure, and as thepressure-rollers are adjustable laterally they may be moved intoposition to cooperate with the carriage at all times to regulate thedistance between the slats. It will also be observed that the twistersare intermittently operated, and also that the rake-bar reciprocatesintermittently, and that the movements of the twisters and the rake-baralternate. 1

It will be understood that changes in the form, proportion, and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrilicing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim is- 1. In acrate-machine, the combination of a series of wire-twisters, a pair ofpresser rollers extending across the machine in advance of the twisters,means to adjust the rollers toward or away from the twisters, aralie-bar to carry the slats successively to the presser-rollers, andmechanism to operate the twisters and rake-bar intermittently andalternately, substantially as described.

2. In a crate-machine, the combination of a series of wire-twisters, apair of presserrollers, a rake-bar to carry the slats successively tothe presser-rollers, mechanisms to operate the twisters and therake-bar, and means connected to the rake-bar to automat- IOO A icallycontrol the twister-operating mechanism, substantially as described.

3. In a crate-machine, the combination of a series of wire-twisters, andmechanism to rotate them, of a governing-gear to actuate a clutchmechanism to stop the twister-operating mechanism, substantially asdescribed.

a. In a crate-rn achine, the combination with the drivin g-shaft, adriving-pulley loosely mounted thereon and having a clutch member, and aclutch member rigid on the shaft, of a pivoted shipping-lever engagingthe pulley, a sliding bar connected to the shippinglever, a series ofwire-twisters operatively connected to the driving-shaft, a pair ofpresserrollers, a reciprocating rake-bar to carry the slats successivelyto the rollers, and a rope connected to the rake-bar and the sliding barto operate the latter to cause the engagement of said clutch members,substantially as described.

5. In a crate-machine, the combination with the driving-shaft, thedriving-pulley loosely mounted thereon and having a clutch member, and aclutch member rigid on the shaft, of a series of wire-twistersoperatively connected to the driving-shaft, a governing-gear to controlthe movement of the twisters, said gear having a projection on one ofits faces, a pivoted sliding bar having an inclined face at one endarranged in the path of travel of said projection, a pivotedshipping-lever connected to the other end of the sliding bar andengaging the drivin g-pulley, a pair of presserrollers, a reciprocatingrake-bar to carry the slats to the rollers, and a cord connecting therake-bar andthe sliding bar to rock the latter and slide it endwise,substantially as and for the purpose Specified.

6. In a crate-machine, the combination of a series of wire-twisters, apair of presserrollers, a reciprocating rake-bar to carry the slatssuccessively to the presser-rollers, a carriage movable on the frame ofthe machine and adapted to engage the web to carry it forward as it isformed, devices connected to the rake-bar to intermittently move thecarriage, and mechanism to intermittently and alternately move thetwisters and the rakebar, substantially as described.

7. In a crate-machine, the combination of a carriage to engage and carryforward the web, said carriage having a series of adjustable pins, areciprocating rake-bar, dogs pivoted to the rake-bar to engage saidpins, and means to intermittently reciprocate the rakebar, substantiallyas described.

8. In a crate-machine, the combination of a carriage movable on theframe of the machine and adapted to engage and carry forward the web andhaving a series of holes formed in its side bars, a series of pinsmovably inserted in said holes, a reciprocating rake-bar supported onthe machine-frame, dogs pivotally connected to the rake-bar with theirends downwardly curved and normally supported out of engagement withsaid pins but adapted to engage them when the rakebar is movedforwardly, whereby the carriage moves a less distance than the rake-bar,and locking-dogs pivoted on the frame and engaging said pins to preventback movement of the carriage, substantially as described.

9. In a erale-machine,tl1e combination with the twisting mechanism, thepresser-rollers, and the reciprocating rake-bar, of a carriage providedat its front end with vertical standards, a cross-bar adjustablyconnected to said standards, vertical projections on said bar adapted toengage one of lthe slats of the web, whereby the web is carried forwardfrom the twisting devices and maintained in a taut position,substantially as described.

10. In a crate-machine, the combination with a series of wire-twisters,a pair of presserrollers, a drivin g-shaft operatively connected to thewire-twisters, and a driving-pulley loosely mounted on thedriving-shaft, of a reciprocating rake-bar to carry the slats to thepresser-rollers, a sprocket-wheel attached to the driving-pulley to movewith it, rackbars connected to the rake-bar, gears engaging therack-bars, and gearing interposed between said gears and thesprocket-wheel to transmit movement from the latter to the former,substantially as described.

l1. In a crate-machine, the combination with a series of wire-twistersand a pair of presser-rollers, a driving-shaft operatively connected tothe wire-twisters, and a drivingpulley loosely mounted on thedriving-shaft, of a reciprocating rake-bar to carry the slats to thepresser-rollers, a sprocket-wheel attached to the driving-pulley to movewith it, rack-bars connected to the rake-bar, the gears engaging therack-bars, gearing interposed between said gears and the sprocket-wheelto transmit movement from the latter to the former to move the rake-barforward, and a spring connected to the rake-bar and a fixed part of theframe to move the rake-bar backward, substantially as described.

l2. In a crate-machine, the combination with a reciprocating rake-bar,rack-bars connected to said rake-bar and operatively engaged with arevoluble gear, a pinion rigidly mounted on a shaft to engage said`gear, a sprocket-wheel loosely mounted on said shaft, saidsprocket-wheel and pinion each having a clutch' member adapted to engagewith each other, gearing connecting said sprocket-wheel and the maindriving-shaft to transmit movement from one to the other, a pivotedshipping-lever engaging said sprocket-wheel, an operating-leverconnected to said pivoted lever to throw the clutch members of thesprocket-wheel and pinion into engagement, and a device carried by therack-bar to engage the shipping-lever to operate it to disengage theclutch members, substantially as described.

13. In a crate-machine, a wire-twister consisting of a tube throughwhich the wires pass, spring-jaws secured at opposite points at one ICOIIO

end of said tube, the free end portions of the jaws converging andnormally engaging each other, the ends of said jaws being reverselycurved, and each jaw provided with two openings for the passage of thewire, one of the openings being in the converging portion of the jaw andthe other opening in the curved end, substantially as described.

14. In a crate-machine, a wire-twister eonsisting of a tube, spring-jawssecured at one end of the tube and each jaw provided with two openingsfor the passage of the wire, and a spring spool-holder at the other endof the tube in which the spools ot wire are j ournaled and frietionallyengaged by the sides of the spool-holder, for the purpose speeiiied.

l5. In a crate-machine. the combination with a series of wire-twisters,of a pair of presser-rollers j ournaled in bearings on slidablesupports, said rollers being adjacent to and in advance of the ends ofthe twisters, meansto adj ust the slidable supports to move the rollersrelatively to the twisters, and a reciprocating rake to carry the slatsfrom the twisters to the presser-rollers, substantially as described.

16. ln a crate-machine, the Combination with a series of wire-twisters,of plates slidvnaled in said bearings, Cams mounted to work in openingsin the plates to adjust said plates longitudinally to vary the distancebetween the presser-rollers and the vf'ire-twisters, and a reciprocatingrake to carry the slats from the twisters to the rollers, substantiallyas described.

17. In a crate-machine, the combination with the wire-twisters andpresser-rollers, of a reciprocating rake-bar to move the slats from thetwisters to the rollers, a carriage to support and carry the web fromthe rollers as it is formed, devices interposed between the rake-bar andthe carriage, whereby the latteris moved a less distance than theformer, and means to adjust the extent of movement of the carriage,substantially as described.

In testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own l have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK Il. SITES.

lVitnesses:

JNO. P. Ganar-zon, HENRY B. Hai-mls.

